Sequential controller



May 7, 1940- R. E. BASSETT. JR

SEQUENTIAL CONTROLLER Filed Nov. 12, 1938 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Km QN aka/en 201? y 7, 1940- R. E. BASSETT. JR 2.199.775

SEQUENTIAL CONTROLLER Filed Nov. 12, 1938 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 y 7, 1940- R. E. BASSETT. JR 2.199.775

SEQUENTIAL CONTROLLER Filed Nov. 12, 1938 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 v 5/ gaz zz/zzai'or. 5 M JZezZkrZEmQs'eZeZ/r 14: ae any Patented May 7, 1940 UNITED STATES area-11s snousn'mu. cois'raonwa Rex Earl Bassett, In, South Bend, Ind., sllllllor to Bendix Home Appliances, Inc., South Bend,

Ind., a corporation of Delaware Application November 12, 1888,8erlal No. 40,164

8Claimsments which are in circuit with devices to be con-- trolled. According to one feature of the inven- 16 tion the motor, contact members and driving mechanism are mounted in a unitary casing which is supported on and electrically connected to the machine to be controlled by a series of prong connectors. v

Still another object of the invention is vide a sequential controller normally operated .by power means in which the sequence may be varied manually without affecting the power means. According to an important feature of the inven- 26 tion means are provided to prevent manual operation of the controller into certain positions so that certain of the sequential operations cannot be cut out or shortened. Otherobiects, advantages and novel features of the invention will be apparent from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. '1 is afragmentary vertical section of a. cabinet showing one form of a sequential controller, constructed in accordance with the present invention, mounted therein;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary elevation of the cabinet, showing the front end of the sequential controller;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical section on a larger scale of the'sequential controller;

Fig. 4 is a transverse-vertical section taken along the line L4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a transverse vertical section taken 45 along the line H of Fig. 3 and showing the details .of the means for imparting intermittent rotary movement to the camshaft of the controller;

Fig. 6 is a transverse vertical section taken 50 along the line 8-8 of Fig. '3;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary horizontal section taken along the line 'I'I of Fig. 3;

Fig. 8 is'a front elevation view of the" rotating circuit controlling member of the controller 55 showninFig.3; I

to pro showing the details illustrated therein in still another circuit controlling position; and

Fig. 13 is a fragmentary transverse vertical section taken along the line lS- ll of Fig. 3.

In the drawings there is shown a circuit controller particularly adapted. to control an automatic washing machine although it will be apparent that the controller might be used in connections with machines of other types.

Referring first to Figs. 1 and 2, the sequential controller indicated generally by reference numeral ii, is shown installed in positionon a side wall I! of a washing machine cabinet; In this position the unitary housing I! of the controller is located adjacent a fixed receptacle M where it is supported not only by the prong connectors (see Fig. 3), but by a horizontally disposed bracket i5, and the side wall l2. The fixed-receptacle is secured to the washing machine by a strap I l surrounding the same and secured in 7 suitable manner to the bracket II.

The sequential controller is provided with an indicating and adjusting knob 11, cooperatively associated with a dial plate III, secured in a manner to be hereinafter described to the sequential controller. The dial plate extends-outside the wall I! and is provided with suitable indicia for indicating the various functions that are performed by the washing machine.

The fixed receptacle I4 is formed in the shape of a cup, as may be seen from Fig. 3, and the open front end thereof is provided with a bent-over tongue portion ii for securing in place three circularsocket carrying discs 22. 2! and 24 made of suitable insulating .material. The individual sockets 25, comprise resilient fingers adapted to receive the individual prong connectors 28 of the controller adapted to enter the sockets through aperturw 21 provided on the outer insulating disc 24. The sockets and connectors are all located at equal distances from the center of their respective supports.

The sockets-2i are positioned in openings provided in the middle disc I! and are secured in placebytheinnerdiscfl whichisprovidedwith a plurality of apertures 20 through which a bentover contact terminal I. is adapted to extend. Each of the contact terminals 20 is connected either to a source of energy. or a circuit that is to be controlled, through a plurality oi conductors 8i, extending into the receptacle through an opening I! provided at the rear 01 the receptacle M. The inside of the receptacle" is lined with an insulating material SI which covers substan-- tially the entire interior of the metallic shell.

The unitary housing It carrying the prong connectors ll adapted to be inserted into the sockets 2| comprises a pair 01 substantially circular primary end supports ll and 81 spaced apart by a cylindrical aluminum shell as and secured together by a plurality of screw bolts ll adapted to be threaded into the trout primary support 31. The prong connectors ll are mounted upon the support It by nuts 4| adapted to fit into recesses I, so that the receptacle and housing may be brought into abutting relationship. The-inner ends of the prong connectors extend through openings in inwardly extending portions 4! of arcuate contact segments ll lying in arcuate recesses formed on the inner side oi the support 8!. The inner ends of the contact prongs are peened as indicated at 44 in order that when the nuts II are tightened the arcuate contacts are fixedly secured in place in the recesses provided on the support 30.

From Fig. 4, it may be noted that there have been provided tour arcuate spaced apart contact segments A to D. inclusive, and .a central contact disc E. The arcuate segments are each secured in the manner hereinbeiore described to corresponding prong contacts 20A to "D inclusive, and the disc IE is similarly secured to prong contact IIE.

From Fig. 4 it may be noted that only predetermined portions of the arcuate contact segments are exposed and that other portions are covered by. suitable insulating material so that circuits may be closed through the contact segments only at predetermined times.

The connections of the segments to the various devices to be controlled may be accomplished in the manner disclosed in the co-pending application of Aaron A. Lorweke, Serial No. 78,892, filed May 9, 1936, which became Patent No. 2,168,068 on August 1, 1939, and is assigned to the assignee of the present invention, which, however, is described briefly hereinbelow.

Cooperating with the contact segments is a movable contact carrying arm 41 made of suitable insulating material and provided with a square opening slidably mounted upon the square end 48 of a cam shaft II joumaled ior rotation and rotated in a predetermined direction by intermittent steps in a manner hereinafter to be fully described.

The arm 41 carries a contact member comprising a longitudinally extending portion it (see Fig. 8) and a plurality of resilient contact fingers A to "E, inclusive, adapted to engage the contact segments A to E, inclusive, as the arm 41 is. rotated. The contact carrying arm 41 is biased against the contact segments by 'a substantially U-shaped resilient spring ll secured to a washer I2, and through which the square end 4. of the cam shai't extends.

In the control 01' a washing machine, the mov-j able contact arm is normally in its oil position, as shown in Fig. 4, wherethe contact fingers "A to D, inclusive, are shown out of engagefact that the contact segment A extends practically 860 done.

The closing oi a circuit to the contact segment .ing machine; After the water drains to a predetermined low level, water is admitted into the washing machine by reason of the fact that the contact D is still in engagement with the segment D.

During this time. water being both admitted and drained, the materials within the washing machine are rinsed. when the engagement between the contact finger D and contact segment D is broken. the inlet valve is closed and the supply oi wateris cut oil. A predetermined time later the contact finger B engages contactsegmen'tlmandenergises atransmission controlling solenoid whereby the washing machine-is operated at a speed sufilcient to extract water from the materials contained within the receptacle or the washing machine. Thereafter the textiles within the receptacle are given a second rinsing with fresh water by the second opening oi the inlet valve when the contact finger 1) again engagu the contact segment 48D.

Ashorttimelatertheoutletvalveisagain opened by engagement of the contact finger C with the segment 0. and water will be both admitted and drained from the receptacle. providing an efilcimt rinsing action. A brief period later the supplyotwater is terminated in obvious manner, and shortly thereafter the contact finger B engages contact segment 8, to again energize the shifting solenoid.

Finally the receptacle is rotated at high speed with the drain valve open, and alter a predeter-' mined length of time, suilicient to extract most oi the liquid from the textiles, the contact fingers A, B and C are moved out of engagement with the corresponding contact segments A, B and C, and the operation oi'the washing machine is thereby terminated.

It is believed that the above brief description oi the circuits controlled by the controller and the resulting washing cycle is adequate in so far as the description of the nt invention is concerned. The circuits may be arranged also after the disclosure in the copending application of Rex Earl Bassett, Jr. and John W. Chamberlin, Serial No. 129,439, filed March 6, 1937, which besome came Patent No. 2,156,884 on July 11, rose, and

which contains a more complete disclosure of the washing cycle,

Intermittent, step-by-step rotation is imparted to the cam shaft ill through a pawl and ratchet mechanism and a constant speed cam. The pawl and ratchet mechanism is shown particularly in Figs. '5 and '7, from which it may be seen that the ratchet wheel BI is secured to the square portion 48 of the cam shaft l between the washer l2 and a flanged bearing 82 in which the shaft I0 is iournaled. The bearing 02 is held in place by a threaded nut 63.

Referring now particularly to Fig; 5, it may be seen that the pawl and ratchet mechanism comprises a pawl BI provided with a tooth 88 in engagement with the ratchet wheel GI and pivotally mounted on a pin I1 secured to a pawl actuating arm 68 that is pivotally mounted to the auxiliary support 55 by means of a screw bolt 69 spaced from the axis of rotation of the ratchet radius of the wheel a distance greater than the wheel.

The ratchet wheel 6| is prevented from-rotating except in a predetermined direction by means of a dog ll having-a wheel-engaging tooth. l2

. located opposite to tooth 66. The dog H is pivotally mounted upon support 55 by means of a screw bolt 13 substantially diametrically opposite to pin 61. The pawl 65 and dog H are connected by a resilient helical spring 14 under tension and circumscribed about the ratchet wheel.

' 3 and 6) fixed on a secondary shaft SI journaled 75' Movement is-imparted to the ratchet wheel in one direction by a cam 18 fixedly secured to a shaft" driven at a constant speed bya suitable prime mover hereinafter to be described.

The cam 16 is adapted to engage the end Ill of the pivoted pawl-carrying arm 68, and the latter is maintained in engagement with the cam by means of a curved spring 19 mounted upon a stud 8| secured to the auxiliary support 55. The cam 16 is rotated by a suitable prime mover, and in the present instance this comprises a constant speed electric motor and gearing of the type disclosed in my co-pending application, Serial No.

a 78,635, filed May 8, 1936.

The motor comprises a laminated field core N secured to the front' auxiliary support 53 by means of a bracket 85. .On one leg of the core is mounted an energizing coil 86 connected by conductors 81 and 88 to the prong contacts 20A and 26F, respectively (see Fig. 3').

The field core 84 is provided with a relatively narrow air gap, within which rotates a disc type armature 89 rot bly mounted upon a drive shaft 9| suitably journaled upon portions of the motor mounting bracket Ii, as may be seen from Fig. 7. In order to produce an ordinary shaded pole motor, the portion of the core ll adjacent the air gap which protrudes from coil 88 is formed into a pair of forks 92 and SI, one of which is surrounded by a copper shading plate 94.

Formed on the drive shaft9l is a worm 94, which drives a Bakelite worm wheel 95 (see Figs.

for rotation in the auxiliary s pp rts" and 56;

ApinionIIis-outontheinnerendofthesecondaryshaft 10 for drivingagearll,whichis pressed on a stub shaft having one end jourintermediate brass threaded sockets in their ends to receive. screws Ill. (.iut on the stub shaft adjacent the gear OI is a central pinion I08 (see Fig. 6) which drives a secondary gear I fixed on a hub I05 adapted to be secured to the shaft 11 on which the cam 18 is mounted. From Fig. 3 it may be seen that the shaft I1 is journaied for rotation in the rear auxiliary support I! and the intermediate sup- Intermediate the front primary and auxiliary supp r s 31 and 58 there is provided a mechanism whereby the cam shaft 80 may be rotated into predetermined positions by-the indicating knob H. .The mechanism is also adapted, as will appear shortly, to prevent the indicating knob from actuating the cam shaft into certain circuit controlling positions. The reasons for this arrangemerit is that in washingmachines of the type disclosed in my co-pending application, Ser. No.

Z 6,425 filed February 14, 1935, in. which the textiles are distributed within a rotating receptacle at particular speeds, it is necessary to prevent the operation of the washing machine into its centrifuging position without distributing operation.

In the present instance themechanism comprises a circular disc I08 pressed onto a reduced portion of the cam shaft 50 intermediate the front main and auxiliary supports, and adjacent the latter, Disc it! carries a pin I09 extending forward therefrom and adapted to engage a cam going through the v spaced-apart relationship by a resilient washer j ll! interposed therebetween. Associated with the disc and cam is a locking lever Ill having both pivotal and lateral motion with respect to a pivot stud H9 secured to the front auxiliary support 56. The lateral movement is provided by construction of the lever with a pair of forked extensions I20 and biasing the lever'toward the pivot point by means of a helical spring 'l2l attached to the lever and to a stud I22 secured to the auxiliary support 56.

counterclockwise movement of the lever H8, as viewed in Figs. 10 to 12, inclusive, is limited by a pin I23 mounted on the auxiliary support 58, and adapted to engage a rearwardly extending projecting finger I24 formed integrally with vented. Consequently the cam shaft must be thereafter driven by means of the control motor until the pin iUQ, which extends forward beyond the front side of the cam ill, as may be noted Whenever the cam Ill is'tumed into the position indicated in Fig. 11, further actuation of the cam shaft 50 thereby is pre- ,cm I inpositiontostartturningoithecam spring IO.

shaft.

Atthistimearadiailyextendingportionlia ofcam Ill isinengagement with the pin I,

and further rotation of cam ill results in rotati ofthedisc illandcamshaft. Afterthe pin III has been rotated from under the projection III, the latter engages an inclined portion ill of the cam l I l, which prevents the projection lfl from otstructing rotation of the cam.

The inside of the aluminum shell 38 may be lined with a thin sheet of insulating material "I similar to the liningof the fixed receptacle is.

In operation the controller will be operated normally to its "of!" position in which the contact fingers A to D, inclusive, are out of engagement with their associated contact segments, asillustratedinl'lgi. Whenitisdesiredto place the apparatus into operation, the indicator knob llisrotatedtotherightuntiltheradial portion III of cam ill comes into contact with the pin I carried by disc Ill attached to the cam shaft I. The indicating knob is then rotated further, thus rotating the cam shaft into a position wherein the contact finger A engages contact segment A and the contact finger D engages contact segment D.

As described above, the engagement of contact finger A with contact segment A results in the supply of energy to the control motor it through conductors it and II which are connected to the prong connectors 20A and Ill", respectively. The circuit to the motor extends from connector ICE to the contact disc 1:, thence through the movable contact I. to contact A, the terminal "A, conductor 01 to the motor and thence to the other supply conductor through conductor ll, terminal as, connector prong 281" and the conductor attached thereto.

The remaining circuits are closed in similar fashion whenever the correspondim connector fingers and contact segments engage and the washingmachineiscontrolledinthemanner previously described to perform the various operations desired.

Whenever it is desired to have the machine perform its various functions in accordance with the normal control, the motor ll drives the cam shaft ll through the pawl and ratchet mechanism. 'I'hecam'llisrotatedataconstantspeed through the various gears supported upon the rear auxiliary support II and the intermediate support It.

The rotation of the cam, which is constructed .with a constant rise, imparts an oscillating motion to the pivotally mounted arm II. The arm OI follows the cam by reason of the fact that it is biased in the direction of the cam by the The rotation of the cam moves the arm N to the right, as viewed in Fig. 5, and thus the arm moves the pawl 05 in the same direction, thecambeingsoconstructedthatthetooth I of the pawl is moved the distance of a single In case it is duired to hasten the performance of a particular function by the washing machine. the indicator knob. I1 is rotated to the right. Thus, the washing period may be shortened considerably by rotating 'the cam shaft by means of the cam Iii which is adapted toengage the pin I". Thewashingoperationmaybehastened until the pin I" is moved to the point wherein it is illustrated in Fig. 11, at which time further movement of the cam III is prevented by the shoulder III on the locking lever Ill. After the locking of cam III, the cam shaft must be rotated by the electric motor through the gearing and cam, as described above, until the pin I reaches a position as illustrated in Fig. 10, wherein' it lifts the locking lever Ill. When the locking lever is lifted to approximately the height illustrated in Fig. 10, the cam shaft may be again rotated manually by moving the cam III to the position indicated in Fig, 12.

The cam shaft is prevented from rotating in a direction opposite to that described above by the dog H and thus the possibility of the apparatus being forced to perform the desired functions in reversed order is eliminated.

It may be seen, therefore, that the sequential controller described is so constructed and arranged that the controller may be manually operated into certain positions, but must be operated through certain other positions by the time controlled means. Thus, it may be seen that the above described controller is particularly adapted for use with apparatus of the type wherein it is necessary to .insure the performance of certain operations at a predetermined rate.

While one form of controller has been described in detail in connection with an automatic washing machine it will be apparent that many other machines might be controlled and t changes might be made in the controller tself. It is therefore not intended to limit the scope of the invention by the above description nor otherwise than by the terms of the appended claims.

All of the subject-matter described above is fully disclosed in my application Serial No. 141,078, filed May 6, 1937.

What is claimed is:

i. In a time controlled circuit controller, the combination including a pair of secondary supports, a shaft extending through both supports, a prime mover mounted between said supports, a cam mounted outside the inner of said supports and rotated by said prime mover, a ratchet wheel mounted on said shaft outside said inner support, a pivotally mounted pawl for imparting intermittent one way movement to said shaft, an arm pivotally mounted on said inner support mounting said pawl and adapted to be actuated by said cam, circuit controlling means mounted 70 on said shaft for rotation therewith, a pair of primary supports through the outer one of which said shaft extends and to which said auxiliary supports are secured, circuit controlling means on the outer side of said inner primary support in cooperative relation to said rotatable circuit controlling means, and means including prong connectors extending through said inner primary support for securing said second mentioned circuit controlling means to said support.

2. In a circuit controller, the combination including rotatable circuit controlling means, motor means for rotating said controlling means, manually operable means for rotating said controlling means ahead of the position to which it is moved by the motor means, and means preventing operation of said last mentioned means to rotate said controlling means to a predetermined position said motor means being constructed and arranged to move the controlling means to said predetermined position.

3. In a circuit controller, the combination including rotatable circuit controlling means, first means for rotating said controlling means, second means for rotating said controlling means ahead of the position to which it is moved by said first means, and means preventing operation of said last mentioned means to rotate said circuit controlling means through predetermined angular positions said first means being capable of moving the controlling means to said predetermined position.

4. In a circuit controller, the combination including a plurality of circuit controlling members, a rotatable shaft and cam carried thereby for operating said members, a motor for rotating said shaft in a predetermined direction, a pin mounted for rotation with said shaft, manually operable cam means adapted to engage said pin to rotate said shaft manually, and means associated with said last mentioned cam means for preventing rotation of said shaft thereby through predetermined angular positions.

5. A sequential controller comprising a plate, a plurality of arcuate radially spaced contact segments on said plate, a shaft, a rotatable wiper arm mounted on said shaft and having a plurality or contact members engageable respectively with said segments, driving means controlled by said wiper arm, intermittent drive mechanism connecting said driving means with sald wiper arm said mechanism including a oneway driving device, and manual means for turning said shaft and wiper arm so that said oneway device overruns and the driving means is not affected.

6. A sequential controller comprising switch means arranged to be operated in a predetermined sequence, a rotatable shaft for operating said switch means, power operated mechanism including a one-way driving device for driving said shaft, and manual means for turning said shaft independently of said mechanism so that said one-way driving device overruns, whereby the sequence of operations may be varied,

7. A sequential controller comprising switch means arranged to beoperated in a predetermined sequence, a rotatable shaft for operating said switch means, power operated mechanism for driving said shaft, manual means for turning said shaft independently of said mechanism, and locking means for preventing manual turning of the shaft into certain positions, said locking means being released by operation of the power operated mechanism.

8. A sequential controller comprising switch means arranged to be operated in a predetermined sequence, a rotatable shaft for operating said switch means, power operated mechanism for driving said shaft, manual means for turning said shaft independently of said mechanism, a locking cam secured to said manual means, a locking lever engageable with the cam to prevent manual turning of the shaft into certain positi'ons, and means operated by the power mechanism to move the lever out of locking engage ment with the cam.

REX EARL BASSETT, JR.

. 0F CORRECTION Patent No. 2,199,775. May 7, 19LLO.

REX EARL BASSETT, JR.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 5, first column,- line 1, for the patent number "2,156,8814." read --2,165,88b.-; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Officei Signed and sealed this 1st day of October, A. D. 191m.

Henry Van Arsdale, (Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents.

4 OF CORRECTION. Patent No. 2,199,775. May 7, 191m.

REX EARL BASSET'I, JR.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered potent requiring correction as follows: Page 5, first column, line 1, for the patent number "2,156,88h" read -2,l65,88h.-; and

that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Offices Signed and sealed this 1st day of October, A. D. 191w.

Henry Van Arsdale,

(Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

